Our inaugural Assembly as Baptist Churches of South Australia and the Northern Territory was held on Friday night, 17 May 2024, livestreamed between those present at Unley Park Baptist in SA and those gathering at Cornerstone Christian in NT.
Commemorative cakes were shared in both locations over fellowship before gathering for a wonderful time of singing and worship, of encouragement, as stories were shared, and unity, as business was attended to, and prayers were lifted up.
- Neil Wright, Pastor of Cornerstone Christian, reflected on Psalm 24 and challenged our obedience in our hearts, thoughts, actions and intentions.
- Minutes of Appreciation were given for the BUNT Board, Steve Polglase and Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue
- Sue Raw, new CEO of Baptist Care was introduced and shared some of her background and passion for this role
- Members approved expenditure to renovate and refurbish the BCSANT office building on King William Road to increase its value, functionality and future rental income
- Melinda Cousins, Director of Ministries, gave updates from her role including our new logo and website, redress, policy reviews, National Council meeting, Aboriginal Ministry Support Fund and church contributions
- Mark Sanders, Church Development Facilitator, encouraged churches to make use of the Church Seed Planting Fund and heartened us with news that numbers within churches are growing and we are seeing significant increases in the number of people being baptised.
- Updates, stories and prayer points were heard from Darwin Baptist and Baptist Mission Australia and an interview with Iris Lee about her time on SA Easter Camp showed us that God is at work and moving in our younger people as they seek to serve him passionately.
What a night! Special thanks to all involved in making the night happen in both SA and NT. For those who missed this time there will be another opportunity –put it in your diary to attend our Annual Assembly on Saturday 16th November. Anyone is welcome to come along and be encouraged by the happenings around our movement. We would love to see you there!
